Sony Ericsson Xperia Play: Price slashed early by Verizon

Before the release of the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play, there was a lot of build up as it was the first of its kind, a smartphone with a built in PlayStation style control pad which even features the four shape icon buttons and a D-pad. Gaming on mobile devices was continuing to become popular so it was inevitable that people would be excited about this smartphone. The Android device seemed promising and the company was hoping many gamers would pick up the Xperia Play as an equivalent to maybe an iPhone or even a cheaper alternative to their PSP.

However today we have news that suggests that the Sony Ericsson smartphone may not be selling quite as well as the company had hoped, as Verizon has slashed the price of the Xperia Plays they have on offer with contract right down to $100, a considerable drop compared to when the devices first launched in the with the carrier for $199.99 on a two-year contract.

A reduction of this much after just two months on the market is quite worrying for the company, who were bold enough to launch such a unique device in the first place. Maybe a little arrogance on the company’s behalf has backfired leaving them with no choice but to lick their wounds. They only have themselves to blame which many of the factors pointing to the lack of success suggest.

One factor that didn’t help the sales was the delay during the launch; this would have hindered the anticipation somewhat. Also as the article at Digital Trends explains, the selection of games was not broad enough by the time of release. A gaming device that lacks games just defies the whole point of the Xperia Play leaving a completely different market to aim at.

The other main issue that has led to a lack of sales is the fact that in terms of graphics and gameplay, the two main things a gamer looks for when choosing a game to play, the Xperia Play does not even come close to the PSP or the Nintendo DS. With these factors eliminated the Play just becomes an average, overweight Android smartphone with a pointless control pad attached to it. This is how the Play would come across to someone who doesn’t play games looking for a new smartphone.

Criticisms aside the device if you thought the device was worth the money when it launched, it certainly is now and if you have not yet got one but are interested in owning one then now is definitely the time. Will you be purchasing the Xperia Play now it has received a price slash?